Today I have Elaine Cantrell as she talks about her inspirational novel, The Sentence, due for release by Astraea Press soon.

Hello! My name is Elaine Cantrell. I’d like to thank Lindsay for letting me blog for her. The two of us have been cyber friends since we both started writing for Astraea Press.

This is a good time for a guest blog because on March 22 Astraea Press will release my first inspirational novel The Sentence. The story is set in a small town in the American South. So, what do you know about the South? Can you speak Southern? You do? Okay, do you know these Southernisms?

She’ll raise sand about this.

It’s hot idnit?

She blessed me out.

Nary a one of them came to the party.

I swaney!

Fill that poke with tomatoes.

He was grinnin’ like a possum.

We’re in high cotton now.

He knocked the chair cattywampus.

How are y’all doing?

He egged me on.

I’m studying on it.

I’m fixing to cook supper.

I like to break my leg on the ice.

Can you tote this for me?

Okay, here’s a translation.

She’ll be very upset about this.

It’s hot, isn’t it?

She fussed at me.

None of them came to the party.

Oh, my goodness!

Fill that bag with tomatoes.

He had a big grin on his face.

We have plenty of money now.

He knocked the chair sideways.

How are you doing? If you say to a friend, “How are y’all doing?” you mean how are you and your family doing.

He encouraged me.

I’m thinking about it.

I’m about to cook dinner.

I almost broke my leg on the ice.

Can you carry this for me?

I hope you got most of them right. And now, here’s a short summary of what you’ll find in The Sentence.

For a hundred years the little church called Saved By Grace pointed the way to Heaven for the congregation.

Then, Clint Hayes stopped in the parking lot one night to throw away a beer bottle and have a cigarette. It made him cough, so he threw it away too, right into the azalea bed near the front door.

Aided by a fingerprint on the beer bottle, the authorities arrested Hayes for arson, but it soon became apparent he hadn’t meant to burn the church. Everyone expected him to spend a few months in jail, but the judge had a better idea.

He sentenced Clint to six months under the care of Rev. Neal Amos, the pastor of Saved By Grace, a move his daughter Rachel isn’t happy about. Why didn’t her father let this criminal go to jail? That’s what he deserved.

But as Rachel gets to know him, she finds herself falling for a man with no education, family, or faith. And he’s falling for her too.

This can’t have a happy ending, right? Nice girls don’t fall for guys like Clint. Do they?

My Biography

Elaine Cantrell was born and raised in South Carolina where she obtained a master’s degree in personnel services from Clemson University. She is a member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary society for women educators, Romance Writers of America, and EPIC authors. Her first novel, A New Leaf, was the 2003 winner of the Timeless Love Contest. When she’s not writing or teaching, she enjoys movies, quilting, reading, and collecting vintage Christmas ornaments.

12 Responses to Elaine Cantrell

Nice girls ALWAYS fall for the bad guy, but if they act on it, the ending is not always happy. I’m looking forward to finding out what happens to Clint and Rachel. I was able to translate almost all of your Southernisms, and I hope your new release is really successful!